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THREADING YOUR BEADS
You will need a strong sewing thread and a fine sewing needle.
You could lay a piece of craft felt or a fine flannel over a saucer or small bowl to hold the beads as threading from the palm of your hand or a slippery flat surface can be troublesome.
The size needle you would usually use to sew a knitting yarn will be far too large to thread beads, so you are going to make your own version of a needle threader in order to get the beads onto your knitting yarn. It is essential that the beads are threaded onto the yarn before casting on.
Thread the needle with the sewing cotton and make a small knot to join the ends and form a loop. Move the knot so that it is not in line horizontally with the sewing needle, place the knitting yarn through the loop created by the sewing thread
Pass the beads over the eye of the needle and push down onto the sewing thread as in the image below:
Push the beads along the sewing thread then down onto the knitting yarn. The first few beads may be a bit tricky, but so long as the beads are large enough, threading will become easier. Once you have threaded all the beads onto the yarn distribute them over the first few meters of yarn and re- wind the yarn:
Sometimes you will come across a bead with a smaller hole than the others or a bead with a slight fault, so it is a good idea to thread the beads onto the yarn in small batches. I tend to thread about 5 beads at a time. If using a large number of beads it may be necessary to thread the beads onto the yarn in sections, too many pre-strung beads can make crochet difficult and can affect tension/gauge and the appearance of the yarn.
I always use beads from the Debbie Abrahams range, which are specifically sourced for knitters and crocheters. Debbie’s beads come in a variety of shades in sizes 6/0 and 8/0.
Beads are often given a number reference. The number refers to the size of the hole through the centre of the bead.
The higher the number, the smaller the hole.
Size 8/0 beads are suitable for 4ply and finer yarns.
Size 6/0 beads are suitable for yarns thicker than 4ply such as Rowan Cotton Glace and most DK weight yarns.
